Munger, Willard

When Willard Munger died on July 11, 1999, he was in his 43rd year, and in the middle of his 22nd term, as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. Only three men served longer in the Minnesota legislature (House and Senate terms combined), and they all beat Munger by only one year. Representing District 7A, which included West Duluth and portions of St. Louis County, Munger championed environmental causes to such a degree that he became known as "Mr. Environment" in Minnesota.

The first bill he introduced as a freshman legislator in 1955 would have appropriated $25,000 to study water pollution. It failed to pass, but Munger reintroduced the bill during the next term and it looked certain for defeat again when news of an oil spill, which killed some ducks, changed some votes and the legislation passed. Munger became chairman of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee in 1973, and remained so except for a short span in the mid-1980s when the chair passed to a Republican. The flood of environmental legislation passed by the Minnesota legislature in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s can largely be traced to the leadership and perseverance of Willard Munger.

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